Occasionally, the Society awards a PhD Student Paper Prize to recognise strong research published in its four peer-reviewed journals. This prize is given selectively and is not open to applications or nominations.

The PhD Student Paper Prize highlights research that demonstrates academic rigour and makes a meaningful contribution to its field. It is awarded to a doctoral researcher whose work forms an important part of a published journal article, acknowledging the role early-career scholars play in advancing knowledge.

By publishing in a peer-reviewed journal, the recipient has demonstrated the ability to engage with complex ideas, respond to feedback, and communicate findings to an international audience. The prize serves as a reminder that valuable research can come from any stage of an academic career.

PhD Student Paper Prize Recipient 2026

A young woman with long brown hair stands with sunlight behind her and smiles

Dr Sierra Lopezalles

‘I am honoured to accept the PhD Student Paper Prize from the Linnean Society. Completing my PhD has been a deeply satisfying experience and receiving this award in recognition of it is a delightful and unexpected privilege.’

Winning Paper: Sierra M. Lopezalles. The shape of speed: 3D geometric morphometrics of the humerus predicts maximum running speed in canids (Carnivora: Canidae), Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, Volume 146, Issue 4, December 2025, blaf118,
https://doi.org/10.1093/biolinnean/blaf118

This study exemplifies the power of integrative evolutionary biology by linking morphology, performance and the fossil record. Using 3D geometric morphometrics of the humerus across domestic dog breeds, the author exploits exceptional variation in limb form and running speed to uncover a strong relationship between bone shape and size-corrected maximum speed. This relationship is validated in wild canids and applied to estimate locomotor performance in fossil species, including the dire wolf and early canids. By translating skeletal form into quantitative predictions of performance, the study provides a robust framework for reconstructing functional evolution and ecological dynamics in extinct mammals.

From the Editor: ‘I was impressed by the study’s integrative approach, which bridges morphology, performance, and deep-time inference. By leveraging the extraordinary diversity of domestic dogs, the authors resolve a long-standing challenge in palaeontology and deliver a rigorous, quantitative method for predicting locomotor performance in extinct species with broad evolutionary implications.’ —Dr Karen Sears, Editor-in-Chief, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society